The Philadelphia 76ers have been hit hard by COVID-19 in recent weeks. They have been without Joel Embiid and Matisse Thybulle due to the league’s health and safety protocol, and others have also missed time.
One of those players was young guard Isaiah Joe. The second-year player missed six games before making his return on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz. He was activated for the first game of this road trip on Saturday, but he did not play.
In his first game action on Tuesday, Joe shot 1-for-8 from deep, but he pulled down eight rebounds and he was able to get out and run amid his recovery from the virus. It has affected everyone differently, and it takes some time to really get over it. But Joe looked alright in terms of his endurance on Tuesday.
“Overall, my wind was pretty decent,” said Joe. “It wasn’t bad; it wasn’t great either, but I think just getting out there, getting some run in some real games will be good for me. We came up short, but other than that, we just got to keep pushing and I’ll keep getting back to my old self.”
The Sixers need everybody to get healthy as quickly as possible. After an 8-2 start, they have dropped five in a row. The return of Joe should help in some areas, but they really need Embiid and Thybulle back as soon as possible.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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